Nashville man accused of trying to steal veterans benefits twice

One Nashville man seemed to experience all the horrors of the Vietnam War.

While being evaluated for disability benefits in Tennessee, he told of hearing voices from his military service in Vietnam and about how he was suffering headaches from Agent Orange in the war-torn country.

The man was even diagnosed with PTSD.

The only problem, according to investigators, is nothing Walter Glenn claimed was actually true. Yet he still received $196,996 from the Social Security Administration for disability benefits over a 12-year period.

"He never went to Vietnam," said Jim Milam, assistant district attorney general in Davidson County. "It did not appear that he sustained any injuries during his military service."

"It's unconscionable. It's an outrage. It's despicable," said Barry Rice, president of the Vietnam Vets of America Tennessee State Council.

Glenn is a veteran. He spent a few years in the Air Force but was stationed only in the United States.

After receiving nearly $200,000 in disability benefits, Glenn pleaded guilty to lying about his service in Vietnam and theft by deception.

Glenn went on probation, but after just a few months, investigators learned he was back on Social Security and allegedly attempting to receive benefits based on the same false statements for which he had already been convicted.

Thomas Goldman, an investigator with the Office of Inspector General, intervened.

"It's likely he would have been approved," Goldman said.

"For some reason, the Social Security Administration had not flagged him as a fraud," Milam said.

A spokeswoman for the Social Security Administration declined comment for this story, but Social Security wasn't Glenn's only target, according to the district attorney's office.

In 2012, investigators said he went to the Veterans Affairs Administration and applied for disability payments, too.

"He was initially approved for some kind of disability from the VA," Goldman said.

Again, the agent from OIG got involved and stopped any payment.

"Among these federal agencies, one agency had no idea what the other agency is doing," Milam said.

And just two weeks ago, it all caught up with Glenn. Remember, he was on probation for lying about his Vietnam service and theft by deception for all the money he got from the government.

So when he was indicted by a federal grand jury for trying to get government benefits again, it revoked his probation, and a judge sent him prison.

"He's probably one of the most reprehensible thieves I've ever seen in my life," the judge said about Glenn.

"We will continue to seek out these quote, unquote 'wannabes' that are fouling up the system for legitimate veterans," Rice said.

Glenn remains in the Metro Jail awaiting transport to prison after his probation violation, and he now faces a federal charge for allegedly trying to get disability benefits again.

His attorney did not return the Channel 4 I-Team's call for comment but indicated in the hearing that Glenn just incorrectly filled out the form for Social Security.

A representative for the VA did say that Glenn did not get any money after he filed the claim.

A Butler County woman has been researching a discovered diary that belonged to a late marine and is now making it her mission to get the piece of history back into the hands of the World War II veteran's family.

A Butler County woman has been researching a discovered diary that belonged to a late marine and is now making it her mission to get the piece of history back into the hands of the World War II veteran's family.